candy

Beer Candy is a good sign. It’s a sign that these flavors we adore so much are so enjoyable to the mass market that they encourage large and successful companies to spend years developing those flavors into delicious non-alcoholic treats. It’s a win for the beer community.

Recently Jelly Belly released a new flavor, Draft Beer, which took three years of tedious flavor development to get right, and they nailed it. It’s first and foremost a jelly bean, a candy that is meant to convey a flavor while pleasing the candy consuming public. But what does taste like?

But what kind of beer? In the beer community, this is the question that is asked when anything is beer flavored, “what KIND of beer?”

Developing a candy that taste like beer in general is much more difficult than developing a specific beer flavor, the candy has to represent the spectrum as a whole and this is a candy that does that well.

But that’s not enough of an answer for you, you want to know what kind of beer it tastes like.

Sparing you from the Beer Advocate user review taste synopsis, and without using the cringe inducing beer term mouthfeel, here is what those jelly beans taste like:

The smell is more of a pilsner and you get that right away. The initial taste is a bit of a Hefeweizen you get those honey and bready notes, and there is a bit of a cream ale flavor in there as well, and it ends with the taste of a sweet honey like flavor that reminds you that it is, in fact, a jelly bean.

Given that the bean has a great beer flavor, it’s not hard to concoct your own beer styles using the Draft Beer Jelly Belly as a base.

The worlds first beer flavored jelly beans is worth a try for any beer lover. You can order them at the Jelly Belly online store if you’re curious enough to want to taste them for yourself.

You aren’t always aware of the nexus of a true obsession. It may only be in hind sight that the catalyst is revealed upon agonizing inspection of your past. For me, however, the spark was breathtaking, an obvious birth of a fixation that lead to this blog. That trigger was Bison Honey Basil Ale. A beer that begged to be turned into Beer Creme Brulee, my first post.

If you enjoy this little blog that I have, and are as fascinated as I am with turning beer into chewable treats, you don’t have me to thank, you owe the lovely folks at Bison Brewery a debt of gratitude. As do I, or course.

For this post, I used Bison Chocolate Stout, an excellent example of the genre.

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, add 1 cup beer (reserve the remaining beer). Allow beer to boil and reduce until thick and syrupy and only about 1 tsp remains, about 20 minutes. Set aside. (Note: if you want a lower level of beer taste, skip this step and substitute the "extract" you have just made with 1 tsp of vanilla extract in the later step that calls for the beer extract)

Line a loaf pan with parchment paper, making sure the paper goes up and over the sides of the pan, set aside.

In a large sauce pan over high heat add both sugars, butter, cream, corn syrup and remaining 1/2 cup beer. Stir until butter has melted and then stop stirring while the candy boils (you can occasionally swirl the pan), clip a candy thermometer to the side of the pot, taking care that the tip doesn't touch the bottom. Allow to boil untouched until the liquid reaches 244 degrees. The caramel will reach 200 degrees rather quickly,but will take 15-20 minutes to reach 244. The last few degrees climb quickly so stay close to your pot.

Once the caramel has reached 244, remove from heat. Add the reduced beer "extract" that you have set aside and stir until the bubbling has subsided. Pour it into prepared loaf pan, allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, then refrigerate until set, about 2 hours. Cut into squares.

In the top of a double boiler add the chocolate and the stout, stir over low heat until melted and creamy, about 5 minutes. Don't over heat or your chocolate will seize.

One at a time, place the squares into the chocolate with a fork. Roll around until covered, remove and add to a piece of wax paper, sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Once the squares been covered in chocolate transfer the to the refrigerator, repeat with remaining caramel. Chill until set, about 10 minutes.